Some 133 Somali nationals that had been stranded in Uganda were finally repatriated to the Horn of African country at the weekend, The East African newspaper reports.
The Somalis had been unable to return to their country following the travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The latest repatriations push to about 400 the number of Somali nationals that have been returned home by their government from Uganda since the start of the pandemic.
Majority of the evacuees were students studying in various institutions in Uganda. The others included entrepreneurs and tourists.
Somalia’s Acting Ambassador in Kampala, Ali Mohamed, thanked Uganda for allowing the team to travel given the existing lockdown measures and the ban on international passenger flights.
“All those leaving Uganda for Somalia have duly been checked and found to be negative for Covid-19,” he added.
Somalia has so far reported 2,997 COVID-19 infections and 92 deaths, according to data from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
